Villanueva reaches 1,000 career points as Panthers clinch SCIAC berth

ORANGE, Calif. – Senior PG Andrea Villanueva became the seventh Division III player in Chapman University women's basketball history to record over 1,000 career points and the Panthers clinched a berth in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with a 72-57 win over visiting University of La Verne on Saturday afternoon at the Hutton Sports Center.

The Panthers (12-12 overall, 9-6 SCIAC) remain tied with the University of Redlands for third place in the conference standings with one regular season game remaining on Tuesday. Chapman will open the SCIAC Tournament on the road either at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps or Cal Lutheran University on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Villanueva entered Saturday's game needing just 13 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone and she got it on a three-point basket with 7:00 remaining in the game to put Chapman up 60-43. She would later add a free throw to give her 14 points in the game, to go along with six points and six assists.

Chapman jumped on top of La Verne (10-15 overall, 7-9 SCIAC), scoring 25 of the game's first 28 points and building a 22-point lead by the 10-minute mark in the first half. The Panthers never led by more than 22, but the Leopards never got closer than 12 in the second half.

Junior F Natalia Ebrahimian led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds for Chapman, including shooting 10 of 13 from the field. Senior F Nicole Moy added 10 points for the Panthers.

Chapman will close out the regular season on Tuesday night when it hosts Caltech for 'Senior Night'. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Hutton Center.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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